Jeremiah 39
Jerusalem down
Babylon attacks Jerusalem
Jeremiah 52:4-16; 2 Kings 25:1-12; 2 Chronicles 36:17-21 1In the dead of winter, the Babylonian army of King Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem. They arrived in the tenth month [1] on Israel’s calendar, and in the ninth year of King Zedekiah’s reign over Judah. 2Babylonians broke [2] through Jerusalem’s wall in July, [3] during Zedekiah’s 11th year as king.
3Babylon’s top officials took seats at the Middle Gate [4] into the city. Those officials [5] included:
Judah’s king runs away
4When King Zedekiah and his soldiers saw that the Babylonians had broken through, they fled from the city at night. They slipped through the King's Garden and out a nearby gate. Then they raced down into the Jordan River Valley.
5Babylonians began the chase and finally ran the king down on the plains near Jericho. [8] They took King Zedekiah to King Nebuchadnezzar, who was camped far to the north, in the Syrian town of Riblah [9] in the territory of Hamath. Nebuchadnezzar sentenced him there.
6The Babylonian king slaughtered all Zedekiah’s sons in front of their father. Nebuchadnezzar also executed all the kings officials and nobles. 7Then Nebuchadnezzar ordered Zedekiah's eyes gouged out. After that, soldiers tied him up and led him away to Babylon. Jerusalem set on fire
8Back in Jerusalem, Babylonian soldiers burned down the king's palace and the homes of people throughout the city. Then they tore down Jerusalem’s stone walls.
9Most people of Jerusalem and Judah who had survived the war were exiled to Babylon. That included those who had earlier deserted to Babylon’s army before the attack on Jerusalem, as well as those who surrendered after the city fell. The man in charge of deporting the people to Babylon was Nebuzaradan. He commanded Nebuchadnezzar’s bodyguard and led the attack on Jerusalem. [10]
10Nebuzaradan allowed some of the poorest people in the land to stay behind. Many of them didn't own a thing. But he gave them vineyards and fields of their own. Jeremiah set free
11King Nebuchadnezzar told Nebuzaradan, 12“I want you to take good care of Jeremiah. Don’t hurt him in any way. Give him whatever he wants.”
13So, Nebuzaradan, along with Nebu-sarsechim the king's eunuch, Nergal-sharezer the king’s chief advisor, and all the top officials 14went to the palace courtyard of the guards, where Jeremiah was still being held prisoner. They set him free. And they told Gedaliah [11] son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan to take Jeremiah home. Babylonians allowed him to stay in his homeland with the people who were left behind. God’s message for arrested Jeremiah
15Earlier, while Jeremiah was still under arrest and held in the courtyard of the guards, the LORD sent him a message:
16“I want you to stay with Ebed-melech [12] the Ethiopian, who saved you earlier. I am the LORD of everyone and the God of Israel. And I’m going to do everything I had warned these people about. I’ll not reward them for the evil things they've done. But I’ll hold them accountable, and you’ll live to see it for yourself.
17I’ll keep you safe on the day all of this happens. You won’t get handed over to the Babylonians you fear so much. 18I'm going to save you. You’re not going to fall at the tip of someone’s sword. I’m going to give you your life because you trusted me.” 
Footnotes
139:1The Jewish calendar was based on the cycles of the moon instead of the seasons of the sun. They call the tenth month Tebeth. It ran from mid-December to mid-January. Jeremiah 52:4 says Babylonians arrived on the tenth day of the tenth month. Scholars put the invasion in late December or early January, possibly in 588-587 BC. Most scholars seem to say the siege lasted a year and a half, from the winter of 588-587 BC to the July heat of 586 BC. But some scholars say the siege began a year earlier, in January of 589 BC and that the city fell in 587 BC, and that the siege lasted 2 1/2 years. Archaeological evidence supports that the city did fall about the time of 587 BC or 586 BC. Babylonians burned the city and pulled down the stone walls surrounding it. When they were finished, Jerusalem was a burned out pile of scorched rocks.
239:2One technique invaders used to get inside a walled city was to have “sappers” dig a hole under the wall to see if they could get that section of the wall to collapse into the hole.
339:2The breach of the wall took place more literally in the fourth month of Israel’s calendar, on the 9th day of that month. The fourth month is Tammuz, which runs from mid-June to mid-July.
439:3This is the only time a Bible writer mentions the Middle Gate. It may have been a gate into the middle of the walled city of Jerusalem.
539:3It’s hard to know where one Babylonian name ends and another begins. That’s why Bible translations don’t agree. It’s a guessing game, so far.
639:3Jeremiah 39:13 says he has the title of “Rabsaris,” which is usually translated “chief eunuch.” Also known as chamberlain, this top official was entrusted with managing the king’s household and other personal matters.
739:3His title is “Rabmag,” meaning “top magician” or “chief advisor.”
839:5Jerusalem to Jericho is roughly 15 miles (25 km) in a straight line. Meandering trails could have added several more miles.
939:5Riblah is today Rablah, Syria, about 200 miles (320 km) north of Jerusalem, as the crow flies.
1039:92 Kings 25:8-10.
1139:14Babylonians appointed him governor of the local territory they had just conquered. His father had once protected Jeremiah (Jeremiah 26:24). Locals would later assassinate him (Jeremiah 41:2-3). They weren’t fond of puppet leaders. They were used to kings from the family of David. Those days were gone.
1239:16Jeremiah 38:7-13.
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3Babylon’s top officials took seats at the Middle Gate [4] into the city. Those officials [5] included:
Judah’s king runs away
4When King Zedekiah and his soldiers saw that the Babylonians had broken through, they fled from the city at night. They slipped through the King's Garden and out a nearby gate. Then they raced down into the Jordan River Valley.5Babylonians began the chase and finally ran the king down on the plains near Jericho. [8] They took King Zedekiah to King Nebuchadnezzar, who was camped far to the north, in the Syrian town of Riblah [9] in the territory of Hamath. Nebuchadnezzar sentenced him there.
6The Babylonian king slaughtered all Zedekiah’s sons in front of their father. Nebuchadnezzar also executed all the kings officials and nobles. 7Then Nebuchadnezzar ordered Zedekiah's eyes gouged out. After that, soldiers tied him up and led him away to Babylon.
Jerusalem set on fire
8Back in Jerusalem, Babylonian soldiers burned down the king's palace and the homes of people throughout the city. Then they tore down Jerusalem’s stone walls.9Most people of Jerusalem and Judah who had survived the war were exiled to Babylon. That included those who had earlier deserted to Babylon’s army before the attack on Jerusalem, as well as those who surrendered after the city fell. The man in charge of deporting the people to Babylon was Nebuzaradan. He commanded Nebuchadnezzar’s bodyguard and led the attack on Jerusalem. [10]
10Nebuzaradan allowed some of the poorest people in the land to stay behind. Many of them didn't own a thing. But he gave them vineyards and fields of their own.
Jeremiah set free
11King Nebuchadnezzar told Nebuzaradan, 12“I want you to take good care of Jeremiah. Don’t hurt him in any way. Give him whatever he wants.”13So, Nebuzaradan, along with Nebu-sarsechim the king's eunuch, Nergal-sharezer the king’s chief advisor, and all the top officials 14went to the palace courtyard of the guards, where Jeremiah was still being held prisoner. They set him free. And they told Gedaliah [11] son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan to take Jeremiah home. Babylonians allowed him to stay in his homeland with the people who were left behind.
God’s message for arrested Jeremiah
15Earlier, while Jeremiah was still under arrest and held in the courtyard of the guards, the LORD sent him a message:16“I want you to stay with Ebed-melech [12] the Ethiopian, who saved you earlier. I am the LORD of everyone and the God of Israel. And I’m going to do everything I had warned these people about. I’ll not reward them for the evil things they've done. But I’ll hold them accountable, and you’ll live to see it for yourself.
17I’ll keep you safe on the day all of this happens. You won’t get handed over to the Babylonians you fear so much. 18I'm going to save you. You’re not going to fall at the tip of someone’s sword. I’m going to give you your life because you trusted me.”
Footnotes
The Jewish calendar was based on the cycles of the moon instead of the seasons of the sun. They call the tenth month Tebeth. It ran from mid-December to mid-January. Jeremiah 52:4 says Babylonians arrived on the tenth day of the tenth month. Scholars put the invasion in late December or early January, possibly in 588-587 BC. Most scholars seem to say the siege lasted a year and a half, from the winter of 588-587 BC to the July heat of 586 BC. But some scholars say the siege began a year earlier, in January of 589 BC and that the city fell in 587 BC, and that the siege lasted 2 1/2 years. Archaeological evidence supports that the city did fall about the time of 587 BC or 586 BC. Babylonians burned the city and pulled down the stone walls surrounding it. When they were finished, Jerusalem was a burned out pile of scorched rocks.
One technique invaders used to get inside a walled city was to have “sappers” dig a hole under the wall to see if they could get that section of the wall to collapse into the hole.
The breach of the wall took place more literally in the fourth month of Israel’s calendar, on the 9th day of that month. The fourth month is Tammuz, which runs from mid-June to mid-July.
This is the only time a Bible writer mentions the Middle Gate. It may have been a gate into the middle of the walled city of Jerusalem.
It’s hard to know where one Babylonian name ends and another begins. That’s why Bible translations don’t agree. It’s a guessing game, so far.
Jeremiah 39:13 says he has the title of “Rabsaris,” which is usually translated “chief eunuch.” Also known as chamberlain, this top official was entrusted with managing the king’s household and other personal matters.
His title is “Rabmag,” meaning “top magician” or “chief advisor.”
Jerusalem to Jericho is roughly 15 miles (25 km) in a straight line. Meandering trails could have added several more miles.
Riblah is today Rablah, Syria, about 200 miles (320 km) north of Jerusalem, as the crow flies.
2 Kings 25:8-10.
Babylonians appointed him governor of the local territory they had just conquered. His father had once protected Jeremiah (Jeremiah 26:24). Locals would later assassinate him (Jeremiah 41:2-3). They weren’t fond of puppet leaders. They were used to kings from the family of David. Those days were gone.
Jeremiah 38:7-13.
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- Sorry, there are currently no questions for this chapter.
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